Photo: Steffen Pedersen

Statoil Prize for research into artificial muscles

Electronics Electromagnetism Polymers
Anne Ladegaard Skov is awarded the Statoil Prize 2017 for her internationally recognized research into dielectric elastomers.

On Friday, 24 March 2017, Associate Professor Anne Ladegaard Skov from DTU Chemical Engineering received the Statoil Prize of DKK 100,000 for her internationally recognized research contributions within the field of dielectric elastomers.

Dielectric elastomers are popularly known as ‘artificial muscles’, i.e. rubbery materials which expand when exposed to an electric field. Such artificial muscles can then be used for pumps, valves, robots, actuators, generators, and sensors.

This means that they can be used within virtually any area involving movement as part of a technology. This could, for example, be in medical products in the form of artificial skin or—on a much larger scale—in connection with the conversion of wave motion into energy.

“I’m extremely honoured to receive the Statoil Prize, which is an important acknowledgement. At the same time, it’s a great pleasure to be looking forward to a trip to Sri Lanka with my children next winter as the personal award of DKK 100,000 has been earmarked for this,” says Anne Ladegaard Skov.

The award ceremony took place on Friday 24 March in the National Museum of Denmark’s banquet hall, where a large number of former award winners turned up to celebrate Anne Ladegaard Skov.
“Anne Ladegaard Skov has now joined the coveted list of Statoil prize winners, and I’m proud and honoured that this prestigious award is again going to a DTU researcher,” said DTU President Anders Bjarklev in his speech at the award ceremony.

The purpose of the Statoil Foundation, which awards the Statoil Prize, is to work to support and promote initiatives that benefit society, both of a national, social, scientific, commercial, and human nature.
The Statoil Prize, which is awarded once a year, was awarded for the first time in 1950, and is Denmark’s oldest technical award.

The award committee consisted of DTU President Anders Overgaard Bjarklev, Professor Charlotte Scheutz from DTU Environment, and Professor Ole Sigmund from DTU Mechanical Engineering.


About Anne Ladegaard Skov

Anne Ladegaard Skov holds an MSc (Chem Eng) degree from 2001 and a PhD degree from 2004. Having completed her PhD degree, Anne Ladegaard Skov became a research fellow at the Department of Physics, Cambridge (2005-2006). Since then, Anne Ladegaard Skov has been employed with DTU Chemical Engineering—now as an associate professor and Director of the Danish Polymer Centre. In March 2017, Anne Ladegaard Skov defended her doctoral dissertation.


Learn more about Anne from this portrait of her.